Media Release
12 July, 2009
Participation in the Non-Aligned Movement Summit in Egypt and Travel to Malta
I leave Australia tonight, Sunday 12 July, to travel to Egypt to participate in the Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement this week on Wednesday 15 and Thursday 16 July.
This will be the first time an Australian Foreign Minister has attended a meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement since 1995.
I will meet with a range of my Foreign Ministerial counterparts and take the opportunity to discuss Australia's multilateral and foreign policy priorities as well as important global challenges, such as disarmament, food security, the global recession and climate change.
I will also highlight Australia's commitment to increase its engagement with Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean.
The Non-Aligned Movement includes almost two-thirds of the members of the United Nations and over half of the world's population. Its Summit is the largest regular gathering of world leaders outside the United Nations General Assembly.
In advance of my participation in the Summit, I will visit Malta on Monday 13 and Tuesday 14 July.
It is the first visit to Malta by an Australian Foreign Minister since 1992.
My visit follows the visit to Australia in February by then President Fenech Adami and Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Dr Tonio Borg.
The bilateral relationship with Malta is underpinned by strong community ties. The Maltese community in Australia is the largest outside Malta, with approximately 153,000 people claiming Maltese ancestry. This is a significant number given the population of Malta is around 400,000.
This visit will provide an opportunity to discuss shared foreign policy interests and cooperation, including Australia-EU relations. Australia and Malta share a commitment to multilateralism and work together cooperatively as members of the Commonwealth and the United Nations. I will also discuss with my counterpart key developments in the Middle East.
In Malta I will meet President George Abela, Prime Minister Dr Lawrence Gonzi and my counterpart Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Dr Tonio Borg.
En route to Malta I will pass briefly through Cyprus. In Cyprus I will meet with Mr Yasser Sabra, Deputy Head of the UN Good Offices Mission to discuss the peace process in Cyprus. Australia has supported the UN peacekeeping effort in Cyprus through the deployment of Australian police since 1964.
Media inquiries:
- Mr Smith's office 02 6277 7500
- Departmental Media Liaison 02 6261 1555